Showing results by narrator "Laura Brydon" in All Categories

Christina O'Connor is the main prosecution witness from the Huddersfield Grooming scandal. In 2017, 11 men were convicted of a staggering 43 offences against her. In this memoir, Christina will describe how, from being a happy child with a loving family, she fell into the clutches of a grooming gang whose abuse of children earned them a total of 221 years in prison.

Trish Hinde, 35, was sexually abused by her father, Gerard King, from the age of six. Alone and scared, she internalised her trauma and began suffering from violent seizures. Her father took responsibility for her epilepsy care, even abusing her on hospital visits. Trish and her five siblings were neglected, often relying on neighbours for food and watching helplessly as bailiffs carried away their possessions. In her early teens, Trish was recklessly promiscuous and became a victim of child sexual exploitation, often finding herself in danger.

Marianne is eight years old when her mother goes missing. Left behind with her baby brother and grieving father in a ramshackle house on the edge of a small village, she clings to the fragmented memories of her mother’s love; the smell of fresh herbs, the games they played, and the songs and stories of her childhood. As time passes, Marianne struggles to adjust, fixated on her mother’s disappearance and the secrets she’s sure her father is keeping from her.

Written in plain English, The Chemistry Book is packed with short, pithy explanations of some of the most historic moments in science, from the birth of atomic theory to the discovery of polythene and the development of new vaccine technologies to combat COVID-19.

After the year Aidan and I have had, we needed some respite. My husband is overworked, whilst I'm anxious about the past, so renting a night at this converted barn house in the countryside seems like the perfect place for the pair of us to relax and unwind. It might be situated at the bottom of a large garden, but it's private enough that we don't have to mingle with the homeowners who live nearby. Or at least that's what I thought . . .

After a tough breakup, Ellie returns to the only place she's ever really felt at home - the coastal town of Sanderson Bay. A year later, she's living her dream, brewing delicious artisan teas and selling them at her very own café. And when the mysterious and brooding Ben walks into her tearoom, Ellie finally dares to dream of true love. But then her ex shows up in the Bay, and just as Ellie discovers some tragic truths about her family's past, she learns Ben might be hiding an unwelcome secret of his own.

A winter tale of love rekindled in a cherished York bookstore. Megan Taylor, a young widow, finds comfort in organising book clubs and author events in her family bookstore nestled within the snow-dusted cobbled streets of York. When prize-winning author Xander Stone literally bumps into her and trashes her taste in books, Megan can sense that her self-imposed hibernation from romance might be at an end. Their view on literature clash, leading to animated debates that breathe a new passion into her life, but will it be enough to thaw their frozen hearts.

Shyness is often misunderstood. It's not a personality flaw; it's a complex trait with many positive aspects. However, shyness means many kids struggle to speak up in class, get involved in activities, make friends, put themselves forward, and compete. As a result, they can miss out on exciting opportunities, and are often overlooked, ignored, and sidelined... but it doesn't have to be this way. Combining personal experience with extensive research and feedback from parents and children, Shy and Mighty will help kids go from invisible to invincible!

Four best friends, leaving kids, partners, broken hearts and guilty secrets behind them at home, and heading for Ibiza for the mother of all hen dos. Mums on tour: what could go wrong? Three days and nights of blissed-out sunsets, bottomless Sangria and sun-soaked lie-ins to sleep off the hangovers sounds like heaven—but it turns out you can get into a hell of a lot of a trouble, very fast, on the island where rules are made to be broken. It’s a chance to forget about dodgy exes, feuding families and the 9-5, and realise sometimes your friends are the family you choose.

Yorkshire Dales, Summer 1997. Vicky Mott slips out the door of her remote cottage, and into the pale dawn light. She scrawls a note for her friends. Gone to see the sunrise. V xxx That's the last anyone ever hears from twenty-year-old music lover Vicky. Another victim of the Fellside Strangler? That would make Vicky the fourth young woman to lose her life this summer. Snatched by a mysterious killer who stalks the fells . . . But Vicky's body is never found.

This is the story of two women. One old, one young. One looking for new adventures. One looking for a purpose. Both needing a friend. And this is how, along with two little girls in need of a family, a gorgeous stranger and a scruffy dog, they bring the whole community together every Saturday morning for love, laughter and a little bit of running...(well, power walking).

After years of dating losers, cheats and one guy who did something unrepeatable to her kettle, Ruby has all but given up on romance. But then a stranger sits next to her on a train to London and explains his plan to propose to the woman of his dreams. Maybe true love does exist after all? When the man accidentally leaves the engagement ring behind, Ruby is determined to save the day. But she hasn't counted on fellow passenger Curtis stepping in and insisting he should be the one to track the stranger down.

Things are not quite okay. What is around the corner that is about to change everyone's lives? Set in the month of March, we follow Jalaal, a diligent but confused doctor. Despite being married with two children, Jalaal has never taken root anywhere. He's spent his career living out of a bag in sterile, lifeless accommodation as a locum doctor but now it's time to join his wife and children and finally settle in the East End of London.

What would Lily Bennett do? This is the question Lydia Grey finds herself asking when she discovers Lily’s bucket list at the bottom of her shopping trolley. Having just run into her ex—and his supermodel gorgeous new girlfriend—while doing the walk of shame, Lydia’s discovery takes her down an unexpected path…and into the company of Jake Jones. Jake mistakes Lydia for Lily when he offers to help her complete the list, but tempted to be someone—anyone—other than plain old Lydia Gray for once in her life, Lydia doesn’t correct him.

Meet the cool creatives behind awe-inspiring art, with this non-fiction title for kids. Pour paint onto a canvas with Jackson Pollock, laugh along with the pranks of Hokusai, and find beauty in your self-portrait with Frida Kahlo, as you follow the stories of more than 50 fabulous artists and their groundbreaking work. Through charming storytelling rich in detail, Artists covers celebrated figures as well as lesser-known trailblazers, each with a tale as intriguing as it is unique.

When Jennifer goes up to Cambridge University with her head full of the Romantic Poets, she never dreams that she will find her very own Byron. But then she meets gorgeous actor Laurie Lewis, and finds herself living a real-life love poem. Fifteen years and two children later, Jennifer and Laurie's relationship is starting to feel more like an epic tragedy. After a series of revelations turn her world upside down, Jennifer will do anything to keep her family together—even if it means moving hundreds of miles away to Laurie's childhood home in Westenbury, Yorkshire.

Spring 1940. As the war rages on, Vickers steelworks is busier than ever, which is proving tough for Nancy as she juggles working long hours and looking after two young children, all while waiting for her husband to return home safely. Betty is determined to roll up her sleeves and joins the Women’s Voluntary Service to keep busy and from fretting about her fiancé. But Patty is left worrying about someone closer to home. Sweetheart Archie has been keeping a secret from her, and one that puts him in great danger. Will it threaten to pull them apart for good?

Detective Claudia Nunn has never seen anything so beautiful—or so horrifying. The intricate drawing is sent to her at work. It shows a man, naked on a bed. His arms are bound, his face contorted in agony, a huge blade stuck deep in his back. Gory? Certainly. Something to worry about? Not likely. Police get sent weird stuff all the time. Until Claudia is called to a crime scene that exactly recreates the drawing.

Detective Claudia Nunn’s colleague DS Dominic Harrison has been leading the case against a dangerous serial killer, who hunts his victims using a dating app. But now his own wife has gone missing. Then a large pool of blood is discovered in their garage. And Dominic is the prime suspect. Is Dominic being framed by a serial killer, or will Claudia expose an even uglier truth?

Ettie is trying to figure out her future. Dominic’s just trying to forget his past. But with the help of some unlikely friends, young and old, a secret lake hidden in the grounds of a beautiful estate and a scruffy dog, a new community is formed–right when they all need each other the most.